On the Sideline (BSU Football #3) - J.B. Salsbury Page 0,32

feet of tile surrounded by the rose garden. I can’t see the bench where I confessed my feelings to Bex through the rose bushes but just knowing it’s there is strangely calming.

Riley shows us the stacks of round tables and chairs and then hands me a sketch of the layout.

“We’ll crank this out,” I say, hoping it dismisses her.

“You guys want something to drink?”

“No, thanks.”

“Hell, yeah,” Kaipo answers at the same time I do.

She disappears inside and I scowl at him. “What are you doing?”

“Saving your ass.” He pulls folding chairs from the stack as if they weigh nothing. “You’re acting like you can’t stand her.”

“I can’t,” I hiss. I know that makes me a dick. She’s not a horrible person, but she’s unkind to and keeping me from the woman I really want. And the longer this goes on the angrier I get at her for it. I pull a table off the stack, and Kaipo and I pop the folding legs open and set it on its feet.

Every time I get a chance I look up to Bex’s lighted window and wonder what she’s doing up there. Is she clean and warm in her pajamas, wet hair draped against her back while she pours over some complicated textbook?

When the backdoor opens I nearly drop the chair in my hands. Lily and Riley come out with their hands full. “We made you guys some treats.” They set a plate of brownies and two ice-cold beers on the table.

“Thanks, but I’m—”

“Starving.” Kaipo interrupts me. “We were just saying on the way here that we were starving.” He plucks a brownie from the plate and takes half of it in one bite. “Mmmm, so good.”

I feel him side-eyeing me so I grab a beer and down half of it. “Thanks, this is great.”

I expect the girls to head back inside, but instead they pull two chairs from one of the tables and sit. Fine, whatever, as long as she’s sitting and I’m moving I can avoid her touching me. Twenty-nine hours to go.

Thank God for Kaipo, he keeps the conversation going between him and the girls while I continue to knock out table set up. Becky, Meegan, and the girl that answered the door eventually join them. We’re about halfway through the stack when the door opens again. Thankfully I’m at the far end of the patio when Bex walks out because I can’t help the gigantic fucking smile that takes over my face. She’s dressed in a pair of black leggings and an oversized tank top that shows off a healthy amount of lavender lace bra under her arms. Her thick hair is pulled up high on her head sending curls cascading from the top to her earlobes. She’s not wearing her glasses, giving me a full view of her gorgeous eyes, and her skin is clean of any cloying makeup that would erase her freckles.

“You guys have been busy,” she says as she takes in the set up.

“All for you, sweet cheeks,” Kaipo says with a wink.

I don’t snap at him because he’s right. I’d do anything for her.

Her eyes meet mine across the dimly lit space in a silent greeting that makes me want to sprint to her and crush my lips to hers.

“Nice of you to join us in your pajamas, Bexy.” Riley, ever the bitch, has to make it a point to rip on her cousin publicly. I make a mental note to put a stop to that shit the second Bex and I become official.

Bex turns to her with a huff. “I didn’t realize the dress code was escort casual or I would’ve slapped on my pasties.” Her fuzzy slippers brush silently against the tile as she walks over to the stack of chairs, pulling them out one at a time to unfold and set at the nearest table.

Before Riley can come back with a bigger insult, I head to Bex and take a chair from her hand. Her gaze sparks when I brush my fingers against hers.

I smile at her reaction. “You don’t have to help.”

“I’d feel like a lazy slug if I didn’t.”

I feel myself drawing closer to her, but I refuse to stop it. “I thought you liked slugs.”

“Snakes.”

“What’s the difference?”

“What are you guys talking about?” Riley yells from her seat across the patio.

Bex blinks rapidly as if coming out of a daze and then turns to grab another chair. “A slug is a shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc, totally different taxonomy.” She